Method of making shoes.



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J. CAVANAGH.

METHOD OF MAKING SH ES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9. 1:114.

L1 97 6x3930 Patentedfiept. 12,1916.

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teams oavanaen, or eosroiv, 'MassAoHUsEr'rs, assrenor. TU UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, or PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, a CORPORATION OF NEW .iEnsEY.

METHOD F MAKING SHOES.

To all whom it mag/concern: v

Be it known that l, JAMES CAVANAGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Tmprovements in Methods of Making Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.-

The present invention relates to methods of making shoes and an object of the invention is to facilitate the manufacture of shoes and to reduce the cost thereof, particularly, in the making of Welt and McKay shoes, by eliminating several of the skilled and costly operations incident to present shoe making methods.

A. further object of the invention is a' method of manufacturing shoes which not only efi'ects an economy in the manufacturing cost but also insures a unlform product, both in the fit of the shoe and in its appearance.

Other objects and features" of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following description and claims in con- 'nection with the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe upper prepared for assembling, together with an insole, upon a last in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a per-- spective view of a last upon which the shoe may conveniently be made, an insole being secured thereon; Fig. 3 is a side elevation,

with certain portions broken away, showing the upper assembledupon the'last. 1

In carrying out the process of the invention the shoe upper 2, which is substantially of the usual form, is molded at the toe end to form a pocket for the toe end of the last and it is preferably also molded at the heel end. In the illustrated method of practising the invention the upper is molded together with the toe and heel istifieners, to the shape which these'parts have in a fin- ..ished shoe, inturned toe .and heel seat flanges being shown as molded provided for attachment of the upper to an insole.

The last employed in making a shoe according to the method of this invention is i normally somewhat shorter thanthe length of the shoe for which it is intended and is Specification of-Letters Patent. Pfimgnfiged Sgpt 312 19316 a neat filed members i914. Serial No. 876,341. T1 .5; Hill capable of being extended longitudinally to a predetermined size corresponding to the desired size of thefinished shoe. A construction of last particularlyadapted for use with the present invention comprises a forepart 5 and heel block 6 having a longitudinally extending socket into which fits a mov- I able rack bar 8, the forward end of which is pivoted at 7 to the forepart 50f the last. A pinion 9 located in a vertical socket in the heel block 6 engages said rack and may be rotated by a handle 12 to cause relativemovement between the forepart and heel of the last and its heel portion extendin beyond therear end of the last. The molded upper 2 is then properly positioned on the last with its flanges 2O overlying the insole and the toe portion of the upper temporarily secured to the insole as by tacks 22,- these tacks being shown as located approximately at the tip line on either side of the shoes thus preventing the tip from being displaced and also tending to cause the upper. to hugthe sides of the last during the later stretching operation. The last, which at this step in the process of manufacture is in shortened condition with the upper secured to the insole only at the toe portion, is then extended longitudinally by means of the handle 12 to a predetermined size corresponding to the size of thefinished shoe to be produced. This has the edect of stretching the upperlengthwise of the last and conforming it to the lines "of the last, particularly at the ball and along the sides, in a manner similar to that in whichsuch stretching is effected by machine pullingover and lasting. If desired the heel end of the insole may remain outside the upper during thestretching of the shoe and may thereafter be tucked into place under the tucked in, I prefer, however, to assemble the work with the insole under both the toe and heel flanges and allow it to buckle upwardly in the shank. /Vith the last remaining inlengthened position the heel seat will be tacked and the shoe may be side lasted and fastened as, for example, in accordance with the method described in my prior United States Letters Patent No. 1,163,596, granted Dec. 7, 1915; but in the manufacture of inexpensive shoes ll believe it to be possible to omit the side lasting and satisfactorily draw the upper to the insole during the welting operation in which the usual welt is attached to the shoe as in the present commercial method of making shoes, and the shoe is then soled and finished in the usual manner. The last can then be shortened and readily removed from. the shoe without straining the seams of the shoe or destroying its shape and appearance.

It will be noted that this method permits the manufacture of shoes at a less cost and with greater facility than with the present commercial process since it substitutesfor the skilled and therefore expensive lasting and pulling-over operations for shaping a shoe upper to a last, a molding operatlon and an upper stretching and drafting operation. The molding operation requires much less skill than does pulling-over and lasting and insures a more uniform andbetter I appearing product with a. relatively larger output for the same factory space and machinery equipment than can be secured by lasting the shoes in the usual manner; the

lengthening of the last with the shoe upper thereon also enables the shoe upper to be stretched and conformed to the last in a suificiently effective manner to take the place, in the manufacture of cheap footwear, of

' the stretching and conforming operations accomplished by pulling-over the shoe by hand or machine work. It will further be noted that by shortening the last after the shoes is finished the shoe is easily re moved from the last without danger of stretching the upper or weakening the seams as frequently happens with the use of the commercial block last.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in molding the toe and heel ends of a shoe upperto substantially the shape which these parts "have in the finished shoe, assembling an insole and said upper upon a longitudinally shortened last, lengthening said last to stretch and to draw the upper about said last, and lasting the marginal edge of said upper over upon said insole along the sides of the last.

2. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in molding the toe and heel ends of a shoe upper to substantially the shape which these parts have in the finished shoe, assembling an insole and said upper upon a longitudinally shortened last,

temporarily securing the toe portion of said-- upper to said insole, lengthening said last to stretch and draftthe upper about saidv last, and lasting the marginal edge of said upper over upon said insole.

3. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in molding the toe ,,-portion of a shoe upper to substantially the shape which it is to have in the finished shoe, assembling an insole and said upper upon a longitudinally shortened last, lengthening said last and thereby stretching the upper to a predetermined size corresponding to the size of the finished shoe to be produced, and. lasting the marginal edge of said upper over forepart of said insole to a longitudinally shortened last, assembling said upper upon the last, temporarily securing the toe portion of said upper to the insole, lengthening the last to stretch and draw the upper about said last, and lasting the marginal edge of said'upper along the sides and heel portion of the last over upon the insole.

shoes which consists in molding the toe 'por-.

tion of a shoe upper to substantially theshape which it is to have in the finished shoe, assembling an insole and said upper upon a longitudinally shortenedlast, fastening the upper to the tread face of the insole to form a toe pocket and hold it in-properly adjusted position at thetip line, lengthening said last and thereby stretching the upper'to a predetermined size corresponding to the size of the finished shoe to be produced, and drawing the marginal edge of said upper over upon said insole and fastening a welt through said upper to the lip of the insole. 6. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in molding the toe and heel portions of a shoe upper to sub stantially the shape which it is to have in the finished shoe, assembling the upper together with an insole upon a longitudinally shortened last, fastening the toe and heel ends of the upper to the insole in properly adjusted position, mined size corresponding to the size of the finished shoe to be produced, and permanently securing the upper to the insole while the last is in lengthened position. I

7. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in assembling an upper together with an insole upon a longitudi- 5. That improvement in the art of making lengthening the last to a predeternally shortened last, -temporarily securing the toe portion of the upper to the insole in name to this specification in the presence of properly adjusted posiftion lengthening said two subscribing witnesses. 1 last to stretch and dra t the upper about the l lastfand lasting the marginal edge of said JAMES CAVANAGH' 5 upper over upon the insole hile the last is Witnesses:

in lengthened position. ELIZABETH C. COUPE,-

In testimony whereof I have signed my 0. BLANCHE HARGR vns; 

